That time of the year again! Merry Christmas everyone! Sonja Pushchak drew up this image to announce our coming meeting.

It is a tradition for the PHSC to have a Show and Tell night for the last meeting of the year. Our programme coordinator, Les Jones suggested this year’s theme is “small” – things photographic (including cameras) that are small.

As usual there will be a gift exchange and a silent auction.

The public is welcome. Go to our Programs page for times and directions.

Toronto. Programme Chair Les Jones has done his usual superlative job lining up our Toronto program right through to June of next year and our celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary.

Les mentioned to me Wednesday that the May 2017 program will take place at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and is titled “The Family Camera“. The ROM plans to allocate over 5,000 square feet to a display of both family cameras and family prints.

Click on the icon at left or here to see the events by month. The special layout of the meeting schedule was created by Sonja Pushchak of the PHSC.

Portrait – from a Glass Plate found c1960 outside Camera Craft in Barrie.

Toronto. Today we have a multitude of old photos – nameless people and places, Some faded, some still pristine like the sample at the left.

When I was a kid in Barrie, Joe Waterer had a camera store downtown called Camera Craft. One day (c1960) I noticed stacks of glass plate negatives by his store next to his garbage bins. Needing a small strip of glass for something I was building, I took two home with Joe’s approval.

Although a bit soft as was the fashion back then, the plates had such good contrast that I kept them. Either Joe or more likely his predecessor had exposed the plates in a studio setting. In another century (this one) I scanned the plates and reversed them to show the positive view of the young gentleman in the portrait.

If you are fascinated by old images, have a look here at a site my friend George Dunbar discovered. The site is called Lost America Found and is managed by Alan Radecki of California on Google’s blogsite.com which seems to be replicated here on Google’s Canadian blog site, blogspot.ca.

Toronto. My friend and PHSC member, photographer Harold Staats, dropped me a note a few days back on the 29th of last month. He suggested this video on YouTube.

In this video, one of many about early photographic processes on YouTube, John S. Rochon shows a sample of his daguerreotypes with a brief silent movie style text commentary. All this is to the strains of a piano quietly playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

If you wish to learn more about our early photographic processes, just browse YouTube.

Toronto. For the past 52 years the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) has hosted an exhibition of wildlife photographs from around the world. You are invited each year to submit your own wildlife photographs in the competition to be recognized as The Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Toronto. Last October we had the pleasure of hearing about Reuben R Sallows through the eyes of postcard specialist Mike Smith. At the talk Mike mentioned that he and co-author Larry Mohring had an illustrated book on Sallows and his photographic postcards in print.

Mike wrote our editor Bob Lansdale in late November saying, “As promised, here’s the book flier. They’ll be available first week of December. And Larry and I would be more than happy to hand deliver a box to the GTA for PHSC members to avoid postage costs. PHSC members will pay the “show special” of $45 each for books not sent through the mail.”

Click on the icon above for a printable and readable poster. Email me at info@phsc.ca to reserve a copy for pickup at a Toronto meeting of the PHSC. Delivery is expected this month or next.

Toronto. The major repository for all things Notman is the McCord Museum in Montreal across Sherbrooke from McGill University. McCord mounted a Notman exhibition to be displayed from November 4, 2016 to next spring, March 26, 2017.

Mr Everett-Green offers a contrary view of Notman as a skilled craftsman and businessman rather than an innovative photographer. He seems unaware that Victorian photographic media and equipment demanded longer exposures. Most people were unable to sustain a smile long enough for an exposure and it was almost impossible to get a group to hold a pose long enough for an exposure. Notman solved these two issues by having his subjects hold a firm look and using carefully enacted composites to create his then famous group photographs.

Toronto. In spite of its small size, the latest image show held by the PHSC was a success. While the admissions numbered about 100, they were more than enough for the small room allocated to us by the A&L club.

The choice of a downtown locale, with easy TTC access and near-by parking, was appreciated by all. There appeared to be active sales activity at the various dealer tables.

Toronto. This is our second issue using the new format. Our cover photograph of the 1800s Coffin Block Building is discussed in this issue by editor Lansdale. There is a brief text and photo essay about our fall fair.

For camera enthusiasts, we cover John Kantymir’s example of the Ilex Falling Plate camera. In the days before film various mechanical ways were invented to allow photos to be taken in a quick sequence – falling plate technology was one such method.

The bulk of this issue is taken up with part one of Carla-Jean Stokes’ story and images on optimizing the AGO’s great war (WW1) photograph collection.

A quartet of book reviews suggest a Christmas gift for the reader while Toronto Notes reviews the September and October speaker presentations. Finally, we have a follow-up and caveat on the business arrangements of Mrs Fletcher.

Members will receive their copy of issue 42-3 next week – we plan to package it for mailing late this week. Not a member? No problem, just fill in the details at the top of the right side bar and click on the PayPal button – no account needed as long as you have a credit card.